My Little Fortress: Dawnpick

by Paaaad

38

It took Indigo a few days to persuade himself to intervene, and warn his friend Kat about the danger she seemed oblivious to. He needed to talk to her, and soon. Fortunately their rooms were on the same floor, and he noticed his friend going to her room alone. He approaches and knocks.

Kat was just putting her Crossbow away, being done with the day of guard duty. Hearing the knock, she had to walk back to the door, unlock it, then open it up to see who it was. Seeing that it was Indigo, she gives him a friendly wave and a smile. "Oh, hey there Indigo."

Indigo gives a nervous glance at the corridor, but there is nopony there. "Hello Kat. I... I need to talk with you. Can I come in?". Normally his demeanor is more reserved, and Kat seems used to it, but this time he looks rather agitated.

Kat raises an Eyebrow and cocks her head slightly to the side, wondering what's up with Indigo today. "Sure!" she opens the door wider to let him in, then closes them after him, "what's it that you need to talk about?"

After walking inside, Indigo sits on the floor. "Well, I...", he stammers. "It is not my place to intrude upon Your life, but I believe I should warn you. I would expect the same from a friend." He pauses and frowns.

Kat sits down on her bed, still with a raised eyebrow and wondering what's it about. "Okay? So... what are you going to warn me about?"

"Well, I believe you got yourself into some bad company."

The Pegasus Mare's eyes turn rather.. stern. She looks at Indigo like he just said a bad joke. "And.. what makes you think that?"

"Well, I walk around the camp on various errands, and saw You with Stiletto on several occasions. I believe she is trouble."

Kat's eyes become even more stern, mixed with disbelief and suppressed anger. "So... you think, Stiletto... the Alicorn... the one that's in the Militia, the one that ripped thieves after thieves after thieves to save our lives countless of times with nothing but bare magic and an axe the size of a small pony... is trouble. Is that correct?"

"Yes. I believe she seduced two stallions, and made some kind of commotion. Such indecency is hard to believe, but I think it is true. I've seen her with Flux, and one of the militia tucked under her wings. True, she mostly keeps to herself, and is a good soldier when it comes to defending us from bandits, but I do believe her to be trouble nonetheless."
Indigo pauses, rather relieved to having said that, and waits for Kat's reaction.

The Mare just sat and listened. She wanted Indigo to continue and see what his reasons are, if any. Besides, she knows that it's not polite to cut somepony off while they're talking.
"So.. you're saying, that after risking her life protecting us, so we don't have to watch our backs or have more coffins made for us in the tomb, after spending days in days out helping everypony, training, working under all that steel, just because she has more than one Pony with her, she suddenly becomes Trouble?" Kat asks again, as to confirm.

Indigo was rather at a loss for words "Well, yes. I believe she treats both of them as coltfriends, and such a thing cannot be. If this is true, she will hurt them both. And possibly others."

Kat finally smiles up, patting Indigo softly on the shoulder "oh Indigo... Ponies gets hurt and worse everyday. And I think sharing a mare with another colt is a lot better than getting stabbed by a badger thief no? We hurt a lot of many things everyday in our lives. And I don't think just because she has more than one coltfriend makes her a bad pony. Remember cultural differences? Of course you do. You know me, Ponies from different places have different thoughts and feelings. Probably from where she's from, it's acceptable to have more than one coltfriend. We're not going to be silly enough to make a different culture block us from making new friends, are we now hmm?" Kat tries to reason.

Indigo opens his mouth, closes it, and opens it again, visibly shocked. Finally he manages: "I... don't come from, where she comes from. And I will not stand for unfaithfulness."

Kat smiles, laying back slightly onto her bed to relax out. "Well I'm not from where you are from, or she is from. And Unfaithfulness was a really big sin. But do you know what's even worse?" She would wait for him to ask “what?” before continuing, but he just stared. "Being close-minded and dismissing anyone that's different from us. That makes us the true monsters"

Indigo looks even more shocked 'She is lying on her bed... like that, is she trying to tempt me?' "I... monster... " he stammers, but quickly continues, as if reciting a remembered text. "Like I said, it is not my place to intrude upon your life. My warning was given sincerely." After a moment's hesitation he adds. "I was wrong about you."

Kat sits back up, cocking her head to the side slightly again. "Well, thank you for your warning. It shows that you still care, and it's really great. But.. what do you mean you were wrong about me?"

"I thought it would bother you, of course. I don't understand your attitude. This is foolishness."

Kat beams Indigo another smile, opening her saddle bag and takes out a bottle of Strawberry wine, offering it to Indigo at first "Indigo, I really need to talk to you about the great goddess Faust sometimes. Taught us to accept, to befriend, to tolerate.. and to choose."

"I... see. I won't bother you about it, then. I... need to think now." He nods, then sighs, and starts walking towards the door.

Kat perks her ears up, seeing Indigo walking away like that, she calls out "Indigo?"

He stops, but is still looking at the door. "Yes?"

"You didn't bother me. Not at all... Thanks for visiting" She says, clear as day and filled with that cheer in her voice that Indigo used to hear when she talked before she joined the guards... That voice of cheerful, unassertive Kat who shared drinks and meals with him... who laughed and smiled with him... that he-... no... probably not.

He looks at her, feeling better. "Yes. You know where to find me if you want to talk. Just today... I had enough. Oh, and Kat, we are still friends, right?"

Kat smiles at him, nodding and still offering him that bottle of strawberry wine she has "Of course Indigo, always Friends. Always."

"Thank you, Kat. Goodnight." Indigo walks out of her bedroom without even noticing the bottle, but looking relieved. After a moment he perks his head back into the room "Oh, and what was said, was said between us, alright?"
Without waiting for an answer, he heads back into his room. He has a lot on his head.

With Indigo out of her Room, Kat sighs, laying flat onto her bed. Rather worried at her friend, seeing that he's acting rather weird lately... wondering if it's really just about Stiletto... and if there's anyway she could help him... but for tonight... she rests.

For Indigo this conversation went very differently than he expected. At least they are still friends. His head feels heavy, but he can't sleep. 'She thought of me as a monster, not her. Is she under her influence now, and I was too late? Adultery is just wrong, why can't she see it? How can she possibly think opposing it can be worse than the deed itself?' She didn't even try to deny any accusations, seemed unbothered by them and didn't listen to reason. This is a very unsettling thought for him. He remembered her words: "Indigo, I really need to talk to you about the great goddess Faust sometimes. Taught us to accept, to befriend, to tolerate.. and to choose."
'But it is wrong to accept and tolerate evil. And what choice could she be talking about, when condemnation of adultery is the only option?' He was a rather smart pony, and it didn't take him long to figure that out. She was going to give him a choice to either turn a blind eye to Stiletto's excesses, or not be friends with Kat any more. She said, they would always be friends, but Indigo lived long enough to learn that there is no such things as always. Making friends was generally hard for him, and loosing them sucked. After a while he started quietly sobbing in the privacy of his room, and that finally brought him relief. It was a cleansing kind of crying, and it helped. The next day he almost felt all right.